wrote in message ...
Cleaned the "Gunk" from the bottom of my koi pond the first time in 10
years. This pond had twelve 10 year old koi that were very large. I
decided to sell them and keep goldfish and plants again. I never..I repeat
never felt the need to clean the gunk. It is an outdoor pond and not an
aquarium. I have a very good filtration system and only cleaned a 5 gallon
bucket of "gunk" out of the pond. {:O) MIKE

I'm like you. While my koi are still young (about 2 years old), I have a large
albino channel catfish and a lot of goldfish. My pond is only a year old, but
even being located beneath a very large pin oak, where leaves and acorns
regularly fall into it ( I do screen the pond in the fall), the bottom of my
pond is perfectly visible. No gunk at all, not even an acorn. The bacteria I
use digests the debris completely, sludge and all (which is what it is supposed
to do). If the water is being constantly overturned in the pond, with proper
filtration, you should get very little build up. So, I am not surprised that
after ten years, you've only cleaned out 5 gallons of gunk out of your pond.
That just shows that your little ecosystem is working. Great job, Mike. I hope
I have the same results ten years from now.

"*muffin*" wrote in message
...
hmmph!!

pond is only a year old,, who would have thought so much black gunk was at
the bottom!!
I was sooooo careful with covering the pond to keep out leaves, ,but of
course some got in, & what added to the "gunk" was pots that tipped over,,
yucky.